His second glance, their sixteenth year
by Dbzrox4ever
Summary: Kou's point of view when he sees Futaba again for the second time. What is he thinking?


Oh man, I'm so nervous!Hey all, this is my first post here in fanfiction, since I realized somewhat belatedly that I really should join this place. Um..this is a story in Kou's point of view and you will realize which scene I'm talking about as soon as you start reading it. I've tried to be faithful to the feel of the manga while infusing my own style and interpretation as well. Please do read and review it. As a budding writer,criticism is something I take very seriously. Thank you for taking the time and I do hope you enjoy it. :)

**His second glance, their sixteenth year**

_The scent of the air after the rain,_

_I heard your pulse,_

_I saw the light…._

Kou never thought he would be back in this place after all this time. He thought he had left all his memories, his happy years here, before moving to Nagasaki. Now that he was back, he noticed how nothing much had changed. His house was still the same. His neighbourhood was still the same. "Even the shrine" he reminisced wistfully "is still the same." It was only natural of course. Only three years had passed since his stay here. However for Kou, it seemed like he had experienced a lifetime of change in those three years. Even if everything else hadn't changed, the tumultuous circumstances he had weathered made him look at all those similar things very differently. He didn't see it as an opportunity. He didn't seek happiness anymore. However, try as he might to repress his memories here, he still had one image with him constantly, one image that helped him when he was in greatest distress.

That image of Yoshioka running towards him with all her heart was forever imprinted in his heart. Looking back at his middle school days now, and his undying affection for her, he couldn't help but feel as if that naïve boy who existed then had disappeared completely. Yoshioka too was just a remainder of his happy days here. That's all she was. Among other more important, pressing matters though, he always regretted not showing up at Sankaku Park after he had asked her to come. It had taken him all his courage to do that, only to have his hopes crashing down when she bluntly stated that she hated boys. "She probably never came. I don't have to be sorry." He comforted himself. But deep down he never stopped wondering if she had come, and what days would have followed if he had met her there.

Now, as he approached his high school for the opening ceremony, he couldn't comprehend the excited chatter of the students. He didn't look forward to anything either. His brother was a teacher here, for good measure. He was pretty sure it would be living hell. Somehow he had managed to get placed in the special advanced section, even though he hadn't really studied hard for his entrance test. He didn't care either way. He didn't worry much about making friends either. It was easy for him to get along at a superficial level, effortless even.

He was about to head to his own classroom with some boys he acquainted himself with when he heard a voice call out "Futaba! Geez, class is this way! Pay attention, will you?" His head turned reflexively at the sound of the voice, which he regretted immediately. Why was he letting an old school memory control him so much? He was about to turn around when he heard another, lively, energetic voice call out "Ahaha! Sorry, Asumi! I was thinking about the menu in the cafeteria! It looks so good!" He was dumbstruck when he saw a familiar girl, with lovely burgundy hair and fair skin, speak loudly to her friend. It was her. It was Yoshioka. There was no doubt about it. She was older, taller and prettier than before, but he could recognize that face anywhere. Unexpectedly, he found his memories rushing back like a storm.

"Stop shouting! We can hear you. You really should act more like a girl, you know!"

He was puzzled at this. The Yoshioka Futaba he remembered was as feminine as a woman could be. That was one of the things he had loved about her. She was so cute and modest; it had made him want to protect her.

"Ehhh?! I don't really care about that! We should get to class or we'll be la-whoops!" Her books came tumbling out of her bag among other things and he wondered how she even fit her books in there in the first place considering how disorganised, to put it lightly, her bag was.

"Ah! Damn! How annoying." She complained.

"Be more organised! I wonder how you're going to get a boyfriend the way you are right now!" her so-called friends said, not bothering to help her.

"Who says I even want one?! I'm fine by myself." she said, her nose wrinkling slightly.

He smirked. At least one thing hadn't changed about her. She still felt the same way about boys. She probably _didn't _show up that day. It wasn't something to be surprised about. Rather, right now he was more cynical than anything else. What a coincidence; his first love was in the same school as he was, and she seemed to have changed just as much as he had. She wasn't feminine or shy anymore. If nothing else she had become boisterous, messy and lost all traces of femininity in her, or so he thought. What a pity. He believed that she didn't appeal to him that way anymore.

It was a bit sad though. She was his first love, a first love that, like a flower bud torn off by a gust of wind before it had the chance to bloom, ended without ever beginning. Would she ever notice him in this school? She seemed caught up in her own little world, which he found amusing.

"Mabuchi! Are you coming?" his classmates called out, releasing him from his trance. As he took one last glance at her, he thought he saw a hint of vulnerability in her eyes as she laughed animatedly with her friends, as if she didn't really want to be there. "It's none of my business" he thought indifferently as he left.

The months passed by swiftly. He saw Yoshioka every now and then, with her "friends" or so they were supposed to be. As much as he tried to ignore her, his eyes followed her every time he saw her in the hallway or the cafeteria. He marvelled at the change in her demeanour. How could a person possibly change that much? But then he would sarcastically think that he wasn't one to comment either.

What he did wonder about though, was how she could call those girls by their first names so easily when their bonds were so shallow. From what he could see they didn't care for her at all and it sometimes seemed like she was forcing herself to laugh and act silly. Somehow she seemed sadder now, and her eyes were more pensive than before. Sometimes, she seemed to revert back to her old self and quietly think, like she did when they were in middle school. But soon after, she would be back to her chatty, happy self.

But even after all those months of studying in the same school, she still didn't notice his presence. He was surprisingly amused at her behaviour and wondered how long it would take for her to notice him.

It was during another uneventful day that he noticed her in the hallway. She was quiet again, thinking to herself. He couldn't help but think that she really had grown pretty. Only this time, he wasn't the only one to notice.

Another boy loudly spoke to his friend "Hey! Don't you think Yoshioka from Class 2 is really cute?"

He felt slightly irritated at that and was unexpectedly pleased when they changed their minds after watching her gobble her bread like she hadn't eaten in weeks.

Her friends chided her again for her lack of delicacy and she responded again with "Huh?! Like I care! I generally dislike guys anyway!"

"Some people might think I've been rejected." he thought sardonically. How many times did she have to say it anyway? He was almost certain now that his crush was one sided.

She went on. "As long as I have you guys to hang out with, I could care less about bo-ah!" she bumped into him unexpectedly and he caught her bread just in time as it fell.

"Thanks." She said without looking up.

He couldn't help but comment "What a plain lunch" dryly before heading off. "She really is clueless" he thought wryly as he walked. Little did he know the adventures that one remark would entangle him into.

_Yoshioka Futaba was part of his past, for all Kou knew. Yet somehow, he had fallen in love with her again, harder this time if it was even possible. He had never seen it coming. The way she laughed, the way he had to control the urge to touch her so many times, how he found her so adorable when she blushed, the way she made his heart clench so easily; everything was so wonderful to him. And what was more; he had a chance this time. After all this time and so much trouble, he could finally be with her, and he wasn't going to let anything, much less a guy named Kikuchi Touma, stop him. _


End file.
